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“You just sort of always assume that they will find a way to make it work,” James Hinchcliffe said of the financial situation at Newman/Haas Racing. Photo by LAT Photographic

IndyCar: James Hinchliffe shocked at Newman/Haas Racing's demise

December 5, 2011

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Izod Indycar Series rookie of the year James Hinchcliffe said he was more than surprised to learn of Newman/Haas Racing's decision late last week to close its doors. The team cited economic conditions and a lack of full funding as the reasons for its shutdown.

“[My] immediate reaction was shock, for sure,” Hinchcliffe said in a statement released on Tuesday by his management company. “I obviously was somewhat aware of the fact that the team had recently received some bad news about potential sponsors, but it's Newman/Haas.”

The team had participated in Indy-car racing ever since Mario Andretti convinced Carl Haas and actor Paul Newman to join forces for the 1983 season. Newman/Haas won 107 races and eight championships during its years in CART, Champ Car and IndyCar, though it never won a title after IndyCar absorbed Champ Car in 2008.

“You just sort of always assume that they will find a way to make it work,” Hinchcliffe said. “The [new] cars had been ordered and the engineers were into their preparation. So for sure it was a shock.”

Newman/Haas was coming off a strong season, with Oriol Servia finishing fourth in the overall standings to go along with Hinchcliffe's rookie of the year award.

“I was surprised for a lot of reasons,” Hinchcliffe said. “You always like to think that good results will make the sponsor search easier, and I am sure it does, but this is such a multifaceted sport and business that it takes more than that, and if all the pieces don't fit then these things can happen.”

Hinchcliffe said he doesn't know what direction his career will take, but he expects to be in IndyCar in 2012. He still has funding from Sprott, a Canadian company.

“Well, after a season like the one we had, there was certainly some interest from around the paddock,” he said. “It was a very flattering thing, really.”